The Third Task
by sweetseptemberswimmer
Summary: oneshot. The third task from Cedric's perspective.


**I sat down to write this yesterday. It's the third task from Cedric's perspective. Cedric is one of my favorite characters in the entire series, and I think this is one story that really needs to be told.**

When I walk into the great hall the morning of the third task, I can't help but feel good, confident, ready. The sun is shining, I know I can't possibly even better prepared, and I'm in first. First! I might have a chance to actually win!

As I sit down next to my friends at the Hufflepuff table, I glance up at the ceiling. The sun is streaking through the high windows and the sky is a perfect, clear blue. Great Quidditch conditions, I can't help but think to myself. Sudden longing tugs at my heart, and bone-deep desire to feel the wind on my face, the ground several hundred feet away, the snitch only inches away from my fingers….

"Earth to Cedric," Alex interrupts me with a grin on his face, bringing me crashing back into reality.

I stare at him blankly, refusing to leave behind my image of flying. "What'd I miss?"

Alex roars with laughter. "Nothing much. I just got bored watching you daydream about Cho." His tone is teasing, borderline cheeky even.

My face flushes. "I wasn't daydreaming about Cho!" I hiss crossly.

"Okay fine. Winning then... and making out with Cho after," Alex smirks. Definitely cheeky, now.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever you say." Alex only watches me over the top of his goblet, searching my face for any sign that I'm lying.

Less than a moment later, Professor Sprout comes bustling down to our table. "Diggory, the champions will be congregating in the chamber off the hall after breakfast."

I look up at her in confusion. "But Professor, why would they want to see us now? The task is tonight, after all." I look over at Alex, thinking maybe he'd heard of this, with his smart-alec personality. But even he looked confused.

My eyes flick back to Professor Sprout to see her smiling. "You'll find out when you're done eating, I suppose." and with that, she leaves.

As soon as she is out of earshot, I mutter "I hate when she does that." Alex smirks knowingly and nods in agreement. A moment later, Gwen and Amanda each slide into the seats on either side of me, laughing.

"She does it because you hate it." Amanda says, snickering. Her red hair is lit on fire in the morning sunlight coming through the windows, her hazels eyes glittering with excitement.

I smile weakly at her. "Hey."

Gwen smacks me on the shoulder. My cry of protest drowns out any response from Amanda. "Hey. I'm here too, you know! God, keep that up, and Cho will think you're cheating on her!" I can feel my face flame red again, and Gwen laughs. Out of everyone, Gwen and Amanda both know I'm not that kind of person. But they both take it upon themselves to mock me relentlessly about it.

Gwen's face turns serious all of a sudden. "How late did you stay up last night? You look awful." True to Gwen's nature, she just had to tell me the truth. But in all honesty, I felt good.

"Not long after you ditched me, actually. I figured training would be pointless without someone to practice with."

Gwen nods thoughtfully. "Are you ready for tonight?"

I shrug. "I don't know," I answer honestly. "I feel like I am… But, I mean…."

"You'll be spectacular," Amanda says confidently.

My stomach clenches with the thought of what I will have to face tonight, and I suddenly stand up, my appetite gone. "I'll see you guys later." and with that, I head off towards the chamber off the hall. I can feel my friends' eyes on my back, surprised and concerned with my sudden departure, but I can't think about the task anymore. But at the same time, I have to. It is only a few short hours away….

I shake the thoughts out of my head. Not now, I scold myself. No sooner do I push open the door than I catch hardly a glimpse of the odd number of people standing there before I am wrapped up into a massive bear hug, a man saying my name over and over again.

When he finally lets me go, I step back and take in my mother and father's shining faces, their looks of pride and evident happiness. And when they laugh at the look of shock that is so obviously on my face, my ears and heart can't take it any longer. I grab them up in another hug and laugh along.

"What are you doing here?" I find myself asking, grinning so much it hurts. My parents! Here! At Hogwarts!

"The champions' families are invited to watch the final task. Surely the told you?" my mother responds. I can't remember the last time I saw her this happy.

I shake my head. "Professor Sprout wouldn't say a word."

My parents find this funny. "Oh that Pamona. She's been doing stuff like that as long as I can remember," my dad says heartily.

I stand around talking to my parents for several minutes. Outside the door, I can hear the Great Hall slowly quieting down as students disperse. Fleur and Krum meander in and greet their families. The only champion missing is Harry, a red haired woman and man waiting for him.

I excuse myself from my parents and push open the door.

"Harry, come on, they're waiting for you!"

I watch as Harry gets up from the Gryffindor table, a look of utter confusion on his face.

Harry walks in slowly, taking in the scene before him, smiling when he meets the red heads and they greet him. I can't help but smile a little myself at the sight. It's nice to see Harry actually look happy.

They continue with their own conversation, and I turn back to my parents, answering their questions about term and such. I still can't get over the fact that they're here. I can't stop smiling.

Just as my mum was offering to take a walk around the school and talk some more, Harry walks by with the two red heads. My dad's eyes light up, and he says, "There you are, are you?"

My blood runs cold and I stare at my dad, mentally cursing him for his rudeness. But he obviously doesn't get the message, because he continues, "Guess you're not feeling quite as full of yourself now Ced's caught up with you on points, are you?"

"What?" Harry asks, utterly blindsided by my father's rude comments.

"Ignore him," I mutter, trying, but failing, to keep the anger out of my voice, my face creasing into a frown. "He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Triwizard Tournament- you know, when she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion." I continue glaring at my father, contemplating all of the new curses I'd learned to use on him. Then I scolded myself. I could never hurt my dad. But thinking about it did help my anger a little. Just a tiny bit, though. I glance over at Harry, trying to tell him to leave, before my dad can go on any further.

Apparently, Harry gets my message, because he hurries towards the door with the red heads. But my father has other plans.

"Didn't bother to correct her, though, did he? Still… you'll show him, Ced. Beaten him once before, haven't you?"

"Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble, Amos! I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!" The woman with Harry says hotly, evidently angered by my father's bluntly inconsiderate comments.

My dad looks like he's about to say something very rude indeed to the red head, but my mum lays a hand on him, breathing "That's enough, Amos." My dad shrugs and turns away, my mum accomplishing what I could not.

I wait until I hear the door swing shut and I go off at my dad, my voice deathly quiet and colder than I had intended it to be. "There was no reason for that dad. What the hell were you thinking?"

My dad still looked annoyed. "You're better than him Ced and I-."

I cut him off. "No. Enough. I'm tired of you treating this like it's a competition between Harry and me. Yes, we go to the same school. And yes, we are competitors, in Quidditch and in this tournament. But right now, there was absolutely no need to say that to him. That was very, very poor sportsmanship. And completely uncalled for."

My dad actually looks ashamed, despite me refraining from actually saying what I had wanted to say to him. "I'm sorry, Ced. I guess I just… got caught up in it all for a moment. Stopped thinking."

"I never, ever, want to see you do that to Harry again, do you hear me? I like Harry. He's a good kid. He didn't ask for thins- any of this! And the last thing he needs right now is you jumping down his throat for something he had no control over!"

My dad mumbles another apology. Sighing, my mother ushers us through the door, and makes me lead them around a tour of the castle. The tension between my dad and I slowly dissipates as the morning goes on, until we're laughing at my mum and his old stories of their time at Hogwarts.

After the morning classes end, we head back to the Great Hall for lunch. We find seats at the Hufflepuff table and wait for my friends to come.

Alex finds us first, practically dumbfounded by seeing my parents. But then, his face breaks into a grin, and he says, "I guess this is what old Sprout meant, eh, Ced?"

I nod, and scan the incoming students, looking for Cho. I hadn't had a chance to talk to her at breakfast, and I was hoping to introduce her to my parents. At long last, I find her walking between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables with Amanda, deep in conversation.

"Cho! Amanda! Over here!" I call.

Both girls turn in surprise, and Amanda squeals upon seeing my parents. She runs over to the table and hugs my mum over the top of the table.

"I can't believe you guys are actually here!"

Gwen's brother Tyler comes up behind Amanda and pries her gently off my mum. "Let Mrs. Diggory breathe, Amanda," he laughs.

I stand up and gesture for Cho to sit down across from me. Amanda and Tyler sit down as well, and I take my seat once again. "Mum, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Cho."

My parents take in the pretty Asian girl in front of them, and Cho smiles nervously. I smile back at her, my eyes never leaving hers. She smiles a bit more confidently, and my parents seem to approve of her genuine sweetness she seems to practically radiate.

We spend lunch chatting and relaxing. My parents seem to really take to Cho. After lunch, they seem almost sad to watch my friends head back to their classes for more exams. I manage a few moments alone with Cho before she really does have to go back to class. My parents don't invade our privacy, and for that I can't help but feel immensely grateful.

My parents and I spend the afternoon soaking in the gorgeous summer day on the grounds. But I can't help but notice that the third task seems much closer form this side of lunch, and the hours seem to slip away faster than I can truly take in the time and appreciate it.

Before I'm even aware of it, we are sitting around the table in the Great Hall eating dinner. Or, well, everyone else is eating dinner. I'm picking at my food, pushing it back and forth, not entirely sure if I want to eat it or not. The Hall is loud and noisy, with many students checking the ceiling every few minutes, anticipating dusk to fall.

It seems much too soon when Dumbledore rises to his feet and the Hall falls slient. "Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

I bid my friends and family farewell and meet the other champions, following Bagman down to the pitch. Bagman starts talking to Harry, but I tune him out, choosing not to listen to Bagman's overexcited chatter.

We stand on the pitch, the maze looming in front of us like some dark and creepy monster. Students begin trickling into the stands and the noise level around us grows.

McGonagall, Hagrid. Moody, and Flitwick hurry towards us, red stars pinned to their hats, and, in Hagrid's case, his back.

"We will be patrolling the outside of the maze," McGonagall says briskly. "If you get into difficulty and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, understand?"

We nod, and they bustle off.

"Sonorus," Bagman says. "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand. Tied in first place, with eighty-five point each, Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause that erupt from the stands are so deafening and enthusiastic, I'm shocked. Birds from the forest clearly are too, as they all sly away, startled. "In second place, with eighty points- Mr. Viktor Krum, or Durmstrang Institute! And in third place- Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!

"So… on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" Bagman says, and my heart leaps, reminding me of the task at hand. "Three-two-one "

He gives a short blast on the whistle, and Harry and I hurry into the maze. I pull out my wand and whisper "Lumos" as Harry does the same. The maze is immensely dark, and the high hedges seem to silence the deafening roars of the crowd, leaving my ears ringing in the quiet.

Within 50 yards, Harry and I reach a fork. We look at each other for a moment, the split up, Harry bidding me a, "see you" as we depart.

I take the right path, and hurry along, my ears trained for any noise that could alert me to a creature, my eyes scanning for something that could be a potential danger.

For the first few hundred feet, I don't find anything. Then I come upon another fork, and take right. I need to travel northeast for the center of the maze, and the left path looked like a dead end.

I continue along, when, suddenly, out of nowhere, I see something crawling along the ground, slowly.

I jump back I surprise, and shake my head. Leave it to Hagrid to put something like a Niffler in the maze. I stun it and hurry past before awakening it. Actually, the more I think about it, a Niffler is rather tame for Hagrid…

Shaking off, I turn left at the next fork, but meet a dead end, so I double back.

I run into a Skrewt- much more Hagrid's speed- and can't help but feel terrified. I try to stun it, but the spell deflects off its armor and rebounds. I duck and avoid it, the skrewt approaching menacingly. I hit the ground to roll from the skrewt as it advances. It hits the sleeve of my robes with a blast from its rear end, scorching the skin underneath, then turns to strike when I leap, and run past it. I trip over the ground in my haste, and the Skrewt bears, down, my breath coming in gasps as I look for a chance to attack. It bares it underbelly, preparing to strike, when-.

I stun it, and hit it again for good measure. My shoulder hurts from where I hit the ground, and I rotate it slowly, trying to get the feeling back. I run, trying to put as much distance as possible between myself and the monster behind me. My wand light bounces everywhere, turning the hedges into hidden monsters, and I turn the first chance I get.

I practically run into Harry. "Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!" I hiss. "I only just got away!" I head off another path, following my own path towards the cup, trying not to interfere with Harry.

I reach another fork, and head down the right path, I encounter a charm that looks like something Professor Flitwick showed us in Charms earlier in the year, a watery looking charm hovering a few inches above the ground, so I would have to walk through it.

Thinking back to the lesson, I try to recall what the Charm does. If my memory is correct, it's meant to disorientate the wizard. The charm forces the wizard to become incredibly dizzy and befuddled, and extension of the Befuddlement charm we learned in Defense. Flitwick didn't teach us how to avoid it, however, if we ever encountered it in a state such as this.

Sighing, I decide to take the chance and step into the knee-high mist. The next thing I know, I'm strewn on the ground a few feet away, the sky spinning above me, and I can't remember how I got there.

In the distance, I hear a scream. I jump in surprise, and, pushing myself up, I shake off the dizziness and glare reproachfully at the mist before heading on, an intensity to my stride that wasn't there before. I take several more turns, pondering who could have screamed. It sounded very much like Fleur had, but for the life of me, in my confusion, I couldn't figure out where it had come from.

For several minutes, I encounter nothing. I run into a boggart down one path, and brush it off with "Riddikulus" and a bark of nervous laughter that doesn't sound like my own. I keep going, desperately trying to find the cup now, dying for this to be over. It can't be much farther… the pitch isn't that big….

I hear footsteps pounding along the path behind me, and someone shoots a curse at me. I spin around, wand raised, my wandlight falling on Krum. The first thing I notice is that there's something wrong with his eyes. He aims another curse at me, that I dodge, and shout, "What do you think you're doing?"

Another curse is aimed at me, and I shout again, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Crucio!" Krum shouts, and the curse hits me. I fall to the ground, pain beyond pain stabbing every inch of my body, like white-hot knives. I hear someone screaming, a tortured, demented, horrifying voice, and it seems like years before I realize it's my own….

_Please, just let it end, I beg desperately. Please…._

I hear a voice, very far away, that didn't sound like mine, and, as suddenly as it begun, the pain stops. I lay on the ground, gasping, and my hands go to my face, covering it, reminding me I'm okay, I'm not being tortured… I really am fine…

Harry grabs me and pulls me roughly to a sitting position. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah… yeah… I don't believe it… he crept up behind me… I heard him, and I turned around, and he had his wand on me…." I pant, my chest and throat aching from my screaming, along with every other inch of my body. My burned arm hurts now, whereas before I hadn't even noticed it.

I stand up, shaking, and Harry and I look down at Krum's motionless body.

"I can't believe this… I thought he was all right," Harry says, unable to take his eyes off the Quidditch star.

"So did I," I say, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice.

"Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?" Harry asks suddenly.

"Yeah. You don't think Krum got her too?"

"I don't know."

"Should we leave him here?" I ask, more to myself than to him. What the hell were we supposed to do with this kid?

"No. I reckon we should send up red sparks. Someone'll come and collect him… otherwise he might be eaten by a skrewt."

"He'd deserve it," I hiss, more venomously than I had intended. The coldness in my voice surprises me, but then I remember he just tortured me. But I raise my wand nonetheless and shoot sparks into the air.

We stand there awkwardly for a moment, then I say, "Well… I s'pose we'd better go on…."

"What?" Harry looks taken aback for a moment, but recovers quickly. "Oh… yeah… right…."

We split up at the next fork, I take right once again, jogging down my chosen path.

I don't encounter anything along the way, turning down other paths every now and then, praying I am getting closer, not farther away. The maze continues to get darker.

I run into another boggart and defeat it the same way as the first one. I can't help but think that the lack of obstacles is unnerving. Then I remember the skrewts and feel relieved that there aren't too many obstacles.

I continue along my run, certain now I'm close to the center. I run into another charm, a wall of fire across the entire path. I try to dose it with water, but the doesn't work. Frowning, I cast Finite Incantatum and watch with satisfaction as it disappears. I keep running, definitely closer to the center. I find a turn and take it, taking in the light about seventy five yards away. I did it. The cup is mine. I'm going to-.

"Cedric! On your left!" Harry bellows behind me. I whip around, and stare at the giant spider looming above me. It steps over the hedge and begins to approach me.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouts, but the spell has no effect. Harry shouts more curses, none of them having any effect. The spider turns on Harry, and lifts him into the air….

Harry fires a disarming spell at the spider after I fire a stunning spell. The spider drops him, and he crumples to the ground twelve feet below. We both shout "Stupefy!" at the same time, and the spider topples over, crushing the hedge.

"Harry!" I shout. "You all right? Did it fall on you?"

"No," Harry calls to me, his breathing ragged.

I'm standing about twenty, maybe thirty feet away from the cup. Harry is leaning against the hedge, I n such obvious pain in hurts to look at him.

"Take it, then," I hear Harry say, and my eyes widen in understanding. "Go on, take it, you're there."

But I can't move. My feet feel rooted to the spot. I slowly turn to look at the cup, taking in the sight, imagining myself hoisting the cup, being everything my father imagines me to be...

But I make myself turn back to Harry, and take a deep breath.

"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my life in here." I can't help but hate myself for saying this, but I know it's the right thing.

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry protests, shifting and wincing in pan. " The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."

I slowly move closer to Harry, away from the cup.

"No," I say simply.

"Stop being noble," Harry says crossly. "Just take it. Then we can get out of here."

I take in Harry, leaning against the hedge, in such obvious pain…

"You told me about the dragons. I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."

"I had help on that too," Harry says. "You helped me with the egg. We're square."

"I had help on the egg with the first place."

"We're still square."

"You should've gotten more points in the second task," I can't hide the envy in my voice. "You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."

"I was the only one thick enough to take that song seriously!" Harry hisses. "Just take the cup!"

"No."

I step away again, completely serious.

"Go on."

I know Harry can see how much this is costing me, to say this. He looks like he's thinking about it, mulling it over, then-.

"Both of us."

"What?" I ask, surprised.

"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."

I uncross my arms, unaware until then that I had even crossed them in the first place. "You you sure?"

"Yeah. Yeah… we've helped each other out haven't we? We both got here. Let's take it together."

"You're on. Come here," I grin and help Harry limp to the cup.

"On three, right?" Harry says, as our hands hover over the handles. "One-two-three "

Harry and I each grab a handle at the exact same time.

Instantly, I feel a jerk behind my navel, and my feet leave the ground in a whirl of color, Harry right beside me. When our feet make contact with the ground, we both collapse.

"Where are we?" Harry asks. I can't recognize our surroundings. I do note that it's dark, though.

I shake my head, and get to my feet. I look at the cup, studying it for a moment. "Did anyone tell you the cup was a portkey?"

"Nope. Is this supposed to be part of the task?"

"I dunno. Wands out, d'you reckon?" I can't stop the nervous edge from creeping into my voice.

"Yeah."

We pull out our wands, scanning the overgrown graveyard around us.

"Someone's coming," Harry says suddenly.

In the darkness, I can just make out a very short person coming towards us, a bundle in its arms. The man walks slowly, but I still can't make out his face.

Beside me, Harry lowers his wand a fraction and looks at me. I return his look, just as confused.

Suddenly, Harry collapses beside me, his hands covering his face, fighting the screams that still forced their way out. I look down at Harry with concern, a moment away from acting, when I hear a high, cold cruel, voice, a voice that could freeze an ocean, a voice that made my blood run cold, say, "Kill the spare."

I feel my eyes widen, in surprise, my heart pounding in terror. I hear the whispered "Avada kedavra," from the short figure, watch the green light as it erupts unseen wand, and then—.


End file.
